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I watched the 2D version of John Carter last night and was a bit underwhelmed with most aspects of the movie, but plan to watch the 3D version some time this weekend and see how it measures up. I'm thinking the movie might grow on me after a few more viewings.

Rented this last night and found it quite entertaining. The marketing team should be shot. This should have performed decently at the box office. I was looking forward to a sequel at the end of the movie, but unless this movie does a whole lot better in BD/DVD sales than at the box office, I don't know how likely that is to happen.

Watched this friday night with a music editor friend and neither of us were impressed by the sound mix. There was IMO the typical subdued use of surrounds for ambiences and backgrounds that is characteristic of Skywalker mixes. We both felt the music was balanced as front-heavy, not much spread into the surrounds and often held back. The mix seemed to favor some fairly small sound effects elements over allowing the music to excite and drive the action. It was dynamically rather flat as well. About 20 minutes after watching this we watched "Safe House" and the difference was like night & day - a much more dynamic mix with lots of surround ambience and music that was full and spread throughout the sound field. I'd be interested to hear what other have to say about this mix compared to other large scale recent action/adventure titles.

I watched John Carter in 3D earlier today after having watched it a few days back in 2D, and I actually enjoyed it a little more this 2nd time around. The 3D effects were nothing to brag about, but they weren't really all that bad either. I'll be watching it again in a week or two with the wife to see what she thinks of it. Either way, I was at first regretting purchasing this movie, but now I'm starting to like it better.

Got to view this for the first time a couple of days ago and absolutely loved it. One of my favorite movies to come out in the last 4-5 years. I think Ralph is right on when it comes to the ratings of the audio and video, but for me the story and visuals in this movie is what puts it over the top. Already bought the books on amazon and can't wait to read the series by Burroughs. I really hope Disney doesn't give up on this one and makes some sequels.

Got to view this for the first time a couple of days ago and absolutely loved it. One of my favorite movies to come out in the last 4-5 years. I think Ralph is right on when it comes to the ratings of the audio and video, but for me the story and visuals in this movie is what puts it over the top. Already bought the books on amazon and can't wait to read the series by Burroughs. I really hope Disney doesn't give up on this one and makes some sequels.

The books are pulp fiction and aren't great literature. That said, they showed remarkable imagination for their time. The film nailed so much of the feel and content that if you had any nostalgic feelings for the books you absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, Disney failed to tap the demo that hadn't read the books with a botched marketing campaign. Perhaps there never was any hope as audiences have become jaded and John Carter had disappeared from society's conscious view. I saw this opening weekend in 3D IMAX and had intended to see it again. I didn't find it fragmented at all. Had they explored more depth it would have bogged the film down. 132 minutes bloated? I could have used another 20. The changes made, notably how he made it to Mars and how he returned were very well done, better than the somewhat corny ERB solutions. The changes to the character also worked. JC in the books is a stoic warrior with a mysterious past, an indomitable heart and very little depth. Making him a broken man that finds himself was a good decision.

It's too bad we won't see the last 2 installments, but after a $200M write down, Disney won't touch them. I think I'll go out and buy the blu today.

I don't lurk as much as I used to and I NEVER listen. Comes from being old and cynical.

Rented this last night and found it quite entertaining. The marketing team should be shot. This should have performed decently at the box office. I was looking forward to a sequel at the end of the movie, but unless this movie does a whole lot better in BD/DVD sales than at the box office, I don't know how likely that is to happen.
Max

Saw it in the theater and wanted to purchase it. Had to dig to find a copy at BB it was almost/sold out. Hope that trend continues

Completely enjoyed the BD .. reference quality PQ & SQ .. magnificent at 110" ..
This may become a cult classic .. mix in a little Star Wars, add some 5th Element ..
And a bonus is it's a great system "Show Off" presentation ..

Ralph really nailed this one. I agree that some of the narrative was a bit fractured (particularly during the early moments). But the biggest drawback for me was the lead. It takes more than a TV-pretty face and physical prowess to be able to convey an iconic character such as JC, and Mr. Kitsch just didn't convey it to me. In spite of those factors, I did enjoy the film (in 3D) and it dres have plenty of replay value. (And Lynn Collins gets my vote for WONDER WOMAN, if they ever get that rolling.) Enjoyed the 5.1 audio track as well. (Although YELLOW SUBMARINE gets my vote as the best 5.1 audio of the year so far.)

Rented JC (2D) BD from Redbox yesterday (hard to find this title locally on DVD). Word of mouth drove me to it, plus the fact it's a bit elusive. I liked it. A lot. I only became aware of JC when someone on AVS started a thread about 2 years ago (Books You'd Like To See Made Into a Movie). Maybe knowing nothing about the books helped me enjoy it.

Found the CG well done, except for the flying ships early in the movie. The rest looks fantastic, especially the rendering of the native Martians; their character-design while not totally original looking, is quite photo-realistic.
Plotwise, I only question Carter's "swordplay" (former Musketeer?), but enjoyed the ride, nevertheless.

There were a couple of places where the movie looked as though it had some digital "multi-pathing", but I'll blame that on the deep scratch on the rental disc.

Strongly recommended as a rental, but am sure I'll eventually purchase.

One of the rare "repeat" movies I have in my collection. I really liked it, not an outstanding epic movie but it was a decent homage to ERB, its a shame Disney botched the naming of it. Time will tell if Disney does a followup, though I doubt it.

I too liked this quite a bit. Some story points were needlessly confusing, and Taylor Kitsch was just OK (not horrible though). But I found it to be a fun, entertaining movie which is what it set out to be. Plus it had some nice Michael Giacchino scoring in spots. Really no reason for this film to have been panned so much. I've seen much worse that are regarded much higher.

I too liked this quite a bit. Some story points were needlessly confusing, and Taylor Kitsch was just OK (not horrible though). But I found it to be a fun, entertaining movie which is what it set out to be. Plus it had some nice Michael Giacchino scoring in spots. Really no reason for this film to have been panned so much. I've seen much worse that are regarded much higher.

Have watched this one 3 times now (once in theater). My initial thought was that Kitsch was fine as JC, but on repeats, it becomes apparent that he lacks charisma. He was decent in the quiet and subtle dialog, but during intense scenes, he lacked gravitas. His voice sounded like a high school football player (I wonder why). If he had the magnetism of a Chris Hemsworth (not saying he's right for the role either) this film would have worked better.

I don't lurk as much as I used to and I NEVER listen. Comes from being old and cynical.

The way the closing credits read, I took it to mean it was not actually shot in 3D. There were credits for something like "3D Application" and the like. Also, IMDB said they used a Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2 camera, which Wiki says was produced first in 2004. I don't *think* this is a 3D camera.

I felt the display was quite flat and was not surprised to see this in the credits. And unfortunately, I agree with post #37 that they did not take advantage of the 7.1 sound at all, with lots of battles and air vehicles flying all over the place.

BUT, I loved the movie anyway. I had low expectations based on advertising which never mentioned ERB so I assumed the estate did not sanction the movie. I'm not sure if the TV ads ever mentioned Mars. But I got caught up in the action. Although I don't remember the book, I felt the movie was quite true to the ERB idea of mars.

I rented the 3D version (3d-blurayrental.com), and they said they use the retail version, but there was no commentary.